An Unlikely Pairing
by CorruptedIcey
Summary: A Roleplay in which Dalek Sek travels with the 10th Doctor...
1. Chapter 1

**Icey: This is a Roleplay…**

**An Unlikely Pairing **

Dalek Sec was happy, an unfamiliar feeling to him, he had found the Doctor after he had been abandoned by the Cult right before they fled the Time War. He had searched the Doctor out, and had somehow gotten the Doctor to give him emotions again. It was an odd feeling, one he hoped to feel more of in the future.

Turning his eyepiece to face the Doctor Sec spoke. "I want... to see the universe..."

Rose skipped into the control room; catching sight of Dalek Sec. "Hello!" she greeted him happily, patting the top of his rounded metal body as she passed by.

It was odd for the Doctor... to be teamed with a Dalek. Everything about it felt wrong, like he wanted to push the thing straight out of the doors into a burning supernova or similar, but new knew he was about second-chances, despite what he has said soon after regenerating into this body and that was exactly what he was doing to Dalek Sec: giving him the second-change he deserved. In a way it felt right; to have at least one Dalek defying its nature, to feel emotions again and one day... who knew? A new future for the entire race. No, a second chance was what was needed and that was what he was giving Sec now.

"The universe..." the Doctor muttered, leaning on the railing that lead down to the doors, Sec just some distance from him, the blue glow of his eye-stalk making the Doctor feel he was looking into some terribly bright blue iris."Where first?" he asked brightly, pushing himself off the railing just as Rose came in from the depths of the TARDIS corridors. "Ah, Rose! Can you think of where the first place Sec could see to understand the vast intensity of the true universe?"

Hmmm..." Rose bit her lip, pretending to concentrate. "Well, there's the third bountiful human empire, or Clom if you want to see really rotund green aliens but don't want to encounter Raxacoricofallapatorians, and of course there's always the past on Earth. Shakespeare, Knights of the Round table-say, that might be fun!" she loves the tales of King Arthur. Imagine meeting him! "What'd you say, Sec? Knights and honor and mead?"

Dalek Sec moved his eyestalk to look at Rose as she walked away after patting his travel unit. He didn't know Rose very well, but he knew she was a very nice person.

Sec's eye widened in curiosity within his travel unit, "What is a Knight?" he asked.

"Knights of the round table eh? I suppose a trip back to see my old mate Arthur is well needed. Well, he needs his Merlin from time-to-time I suppose" the Doctor walked up to the control, dialing in a few dates before adding: "To 6th Century Earth we go!" before slamming down the starting lever, causing the TARDIS to shake and wobble as they rented through the Time Vortex.

Sec quickly went through his database of earth. "But that mean-!" He started to say before the shaking if the TARDIS threw him to the ground.

"Knights!" the Doctor stated over the noise of the TARDIS, "They, my Secky friend, are human warriors of old - fighting battle with sword and shield, killing and maiming their own kind for victory over land, King and Country. Sort of brutal but very human and in fact rather fascinating..."

"Oh, poor thing!" Rose tried to aid him, attempting to lift his huge metal frame upright. "Lend me a hand, will you, Doctor?"

"Dalek down!" the Doctor cried as the TARDIS gave a resolute thumping land. He ran over and together he and Rose managed to get Sec back the right way up. He patted it on the top of the dome as he commented, "Yeah seems the ride's a little more bumpier than I thought sometimes... Don't worry, though, Secky boy, I'll sort something out later. Come on the pair of you" he was already at the doors; "A whole medieval word awaits!"

Sec struggled to find words for what he was feeling, it was different and it felt like blasphemy to him. Putting it off to the side he moved his travel unit to the doors where the Doctor stood ready to open them.

Rose grasped Sec's gun, as though she was holding his hand. She didn't want him to wander off-who knows what a knight might to do a Dalek. She shuddered at the very thought.

"Where exactly are we?" she asked the Doctor. "What part of the town?" Their surroundings were grassy, woods flanking their left side.

Sec moved his eye as he felt Rose grab his Gunstick with her hand, although he didn't know the purpose of this human gesture he decided to just go along with it.

The Doctor stuck a finger in his mouth before replacing it into the air. He then took a great whiff of the air around him before turning around and facing his two companions; "We've arrived on the Fifteenth of October 513, on the edge of a village, seems to be called..." he picked a blade of grass and ate it, "Lochmore" he concluded, "about fifteen miles from Camelot - fun isn't it?" he asked with glee to Rose, looking with momentary concern to Sec.

"Why did you look at me like that?" Sec asked genuinely confused.

"Sec; this world wasn't designed for flat surfaces, its all stones and cobbles and cracked pavements - I suggest you hover, but in a way that it can't be noticeable" the Doctor stated, keeping lighthearted.

"Yeah, because being in a big metal suit isn't already really obvious..." Rose teased lightly. 'Though I suppose we could say he was a knight."

Sec looked at Rose for a second, "As you wish." he replied.

She doubled back at once, feeling terrible. "No, no, I won't if you don't want me to. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way!" she had no idea what might hurt Sec's feelings, since he'd only just gotten them.

"Why are you doing that? I do not understand?" Sec said, feeling as though she didn't like him.

The Doctor wondered whether, with his new emotions, Sec would be able to identify his feelings realized that the process of giving him emotions once more was going to be longer than anticipated, but he liked a challenge! Patting Rose on the shoulder so as to calm her, the Doctor gave Sec a grin before motioning for them both to follow. He knew what he was going to say should anyone question to big metal pot 'rolling' down the street...

I thought I hurt your feelings." Rose explained. She gave Sec a hug-rather awkward, considering her arms barely fit around him-but a hug nonetheless. "I wouldn't want to do that, I like you too much."

"I am not offended" he replied bluntly, tapping her sides with his Gunstick and his Manipulator arm as she did what humans called a hug.

Rose giggled, his motions tickling her. "Well, all right, then. Onwards we go. Say, Doctor, is those hoofbeats?" it was a very quite drumming, almost unidentifiable because of the soft hum of Sec's elevators, keeping him hovering above the ground.

"Hoofbeats?" Sec inquired, not knowing what she meant.

"They're the sound a horse makes when it's galloping." Rose said. "And a horse... it's this, um, four-legged animal, with very short hair all over its body, a long-ish neck, and very strong legs. People use them to get around; well, we used to. Where I'm from we have cars instead."

Sec stored the information in his database, feeling a drop of something hit his travel unit he said: "a drop of Liquid Oxygen Hydrogen has hit my travel unit! Where is it coming from?"

"Hey, it's alright, it's just rain." Rose explained bemusedly, wiping the drop off his dome-shaped head. "It won't hurt you, I promise."

"Ok." Sec said, moving closer to her as he to heard the 'hoofbeats'.

The Doctor had heard the hoof-beats and saw, in the distance, a band of men riding across the plain in parallel to them. Whether they noticed the odd threesome he didn't know; instead the Doctor listened to Sec and Rose's conversation in the background and smirked. It seemed odd hearing the monotonous chatter of a Dalek speaking with independent thought.

As they went by a few wooden shack houses, the sounds of the horses became closer and the Doctor stopped, turning back to his companions as he said, "Be prepared to get a visual of a horse, Sec."

Rose squinted, trying to see exactly who the men were. "Just traveler, yeah?" she asked hopefully. Knowing their luck it would probably be a band of thieves, or the royal police going after a criminal.

Sec's eye narrowed as he zoomed in on the men riding atop the strange creature, "Is that a horse?" he asked.

**In a secluded area of space thousands of years in the future** a lonely ship shaped like a saucer sent out a continues distress signal, the being inside's rage could be felt from hundreds of miles away, it gave off an eerie feeling, so everybody stayed away from it...

**Fin**


	2. Chapter 2

**CH 2**

As the rain started to get heavier, the sound reflecting off both dirt and metal, several horsemen pulled up the road ahead; the Doctor noted as they got closer that they had been the ones in the distant some few minutes ago and wondered, for lack of banner nor flag, whether these men were freelance, thieves or part of the King's Brigade.

"Halt there, strange fellows" one of the horsemen called as Sec queried the identity of a horse, Rose whispering that the four-legged creature, not the human on top, was the beast for which Sec was questioning, "what say you and what be that strange mechanism?"

"Oh, old-timey chatter, how I love this!" the Doctor muttered under his breath as he said aloud: "Urm, my – no, THY name be-eth the Doctor, and this shall be my female companion, Rose, like the flower. The mechanism is ours, we brought it with us from the far distant land to… err… help out with the wheat" he tried to hide the note of questioning in his tone as he glanced back to Rose and Sec, adding: "Art thou the King's Men?"

"Nay" the speaker, a man with a long black beard and gruff expression, "We be travelers of our own business, riding from Lochmore – they speak of strange things haunting the village and we visited to question some more."

"So you went a-nosey-ing!" the Doctor exclaimed before he could stop himself, the rider looking in curiosity as the Doctor added, "It's a term from afar…"

"Strange mechanism?" Sec muttered to himself.

Rose snickered at "a-nosey-ing" and then added, "Thou here there be tales of, erm... wizards an' magic. Um... verily..." She'd never been very good with the dialect of these times. Or accent, either; she was rubbish with those.

Sec glared at the Doctor's back, they had agreed to him being a 'knight', not just a machine to help them with stuff.

"Oh, don't be mad." Rose whispered, noticing his blue eye narrowing. She patted his head. "You're much more than that."

Sec turned his metal head towards Rose in a way that the horsemen could see him move his head and to thank Rose without saying anything.

She grinned back, tongue poking between her teeth cheekily.

Sec waved his manipulator arm around in reply.

The horsemen looked with curiosity to Rose as she spoke, their leader only replying himself when she had spoken herself into silence: "Your companion does speak in a strange tongue?"

"Yeaaah… She's neither from these parts – am I nor our Wheat Processor here either, so tell me: What hauntings doeth the peoples of Lochmore speak of?"

"A rider at night, patrolling the village like a guardian" the leader stated solemnly, immediately baffling the Doctor.

"Sure a guardian is not a negative imposition?" the Doctor queried heartedly.

"It is if the rider travels without a head" the leader responded, a shiver suddenly coming upon he and his rider, "but hush now, speaking of such things are words of the devil, we tend to ride far away from this place, I advise thee of doing the same. Farewell, sir and madam!" With that, the five horsemen kicked off, riding around the Doctor, Sec and Rose and picking up speed.

"A headless horseman," the Doctor turned to his friends, "and devil's tongue – it sounds right up my street! Come on!" he lead them onwards, towards the village with unnecessary glee.

Sec turned his attention back to the Doctor as the horsemen rode off and followed him.

The Doctor waited for the horsemen to get out of earshot before questioning his companions: "Do you know by which means a human body can survive without a head here in 6th Century Earth?"

Rose shook her head. "I know about the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, but that's not even in this country... I don't think so, anyway."

Sec snorted, "Do I look like I know much about humans?"

"Maybe this is where the legend of Sleepy Hollow beings" the Doctor remarks as they finally crossed into the village, "It's rather... sleepy here after all and very good point Secky boy so now here's your chance to find out some!"

"True enough..." Sec agreed.

"You have to know something about humans." Rose said. "I'm a human. What do you know about me?"

Sec stopped moving and thought for a moment before facing her and replying: "I know the basic information of humans that each Dalek is given upon creation. From my own studies I also know how humans reproduce, how their bodies work, etc..."

She laughed. "No, silly, not the clinical stuff. Just...what you've seen. What do you feel?" She wanted to help him explore his new-found emotions, since they seemed a bit unstable at times. She wasn't the expert, but even she could tell he wasn't very good at expressing them.

Sec looked deep into himself, but he did not find what he was expecting...All of a sudden everything made sense... Sanity was so easily broken, such a fragile thing, and Sec knew something was wrong. Something had snapped- something crucial. He was slowly slipping- falling away from a universe that no longer wanted him. And amid his diseased thoughts, all he felt was rage.

"I do not know... I DO NOT KNOW!" Sec screamed, his gunstick firing involuntarily into the sky as his head spun round and round...

Rose jumped away from him, stumbling backwards and tripping over a rock in her haste to get out of range. "Its okay, it's okay! You'll figure it out, promise! Please, Sec..." she looked around wildly for the Doctor, who'd gotten a few feet ahead of her and Sec. "What do we do?"

As random shots fired upwards (thank goodness there were no airplanes to shoot down) she tried scrambling backwards, wincing at a sharp pain in her leg. "Sec, please stop! You'll hurt someone!"

The Doctor spun around when he heard Sec start screaming, he had a suspicion that this would happen ever since he allowed the Dalek to feel - it took more than just feelings to make a Dalek back into a Human-like Kaled; he knew that considering he knew what Davros removed to make them Daleks in the first place...

"Sec!" the Doctor shouted, trying to remain kindly while pushing the dark Dalek-related thoughts from his head as he pointed his sonic at the exterior shell, directing it to the Ray Gun and temporarily disabling it (the gun, not Sec!). The Doctor had no true idea of what was going on in Sec's new-found mind, but he needed to find out before they attracted the attention of the village folks. "Sec" the Doctor muttered kindly, having to actually grip his eyestalk to get Sec to look at him. "Emotions can be illogical, it takes time to reevaluate them, get used to them and even then they can be dismissed. Please, just talk to me" he looked to Rose and added: "Us. Talk to us."

Although his head was not spinning anymore, his eye was zooming in and out rapidly. "Something has snapped within me, something crucial... Do you know what it is Doctor?" He said, his voice changing pitch every few words (think Dalek Caan). "Because I do Doctor," he continued. "I know what snapped...The Universe did!" Sek added, his eye no longer spazzing out as he returned to normal...

Rose limped over to Sec, patting his head consolingly. 'What'd you mean, the universe snapped?"

Sek looked at her, but refused to say anything else on the subject lest he snap again.

The Doctor stood back at Sec's comment, slight worried and confused as he asked: "The universe…?" Rose, too, enquired as to Sec's meaning but the Dalek refused to say anymore on the matter. Now more worried about the Dalek than he had been since giving the thing feelings, the Doctor gave Rose a cautionary glance, looking down to her leg and stating simply, "We need bandages; you're bleeding. Come on" he felt shaky now as he lead the way once more, keeping Sec in his peripheral vision at all times.

Sek instantly felt guilty as he looked at Rose, she made him 'happy', she gave him comfort when he needed it, she triggered something in him nothing else could. Sek looked at them making sure not to show any sign of the sadness he was feeling...

Without much knowledge of the place they were in or if any were any kind of medical unit, the Doctor wandered up to one of the houses closest and knocked on the door.

"'M fine." Rose said. "And what about you? I can almost see the cogs and wheels turning in your mind. Something's..." she didn't want to say "wrong" in front of Sec. She just kept an arm around his head, gently petting his metal head as though he could actually feel it.

But what if that was it? Maybe being trapped inside that metal cage, unable to feel, Sec was becoming insane. It had to be bad enough when they didn't have emotion; she could hardly imagine how such isolation would make her feel. If only she could ask the Doctor if she was right without upsetting Sec...

The resident of the small house wasn't at all cooperative, in fact she was scared. The Doctor didn't get much out of her and a slammed door in the face didn't help. Nevertheless, the woman had a long-leaved plant trailing up her house and on closer inspection - taking a nibble from it - he deemed it safe and returned a few back to Rose, bandaging her leg up expertly as he stated to her, "Just a flesh wound, may sting for a while but it'll heal." He stood once more, a sudden thought crossing his mind, "We should find somewhere to stay, see if we can get a look at this Headless Horseman, but i also need to get to Camelot - i have an old friend who needs his wizard" he winked to Rose.

Sek paused as he heard the Doctor say the word Wizard, "WIZ-ARD?" he asked.

"Oh, that's right, _Merlin_." She teased. "How'd you manage that one?" aside to Sec, she said, "Wizards are people that can do magic. And magic... well, I guess you could call it something that defies the laws of nature. You know, levitating objects."

Sek's eye instantly narrowed at the word 'magic'. "Magic does not exist.." he said as nicely as he could.

"Well, yeah, 'course it doesn't." she agreed amicably. "But knowing' the Doctor, he just tricked them into believing it. Yeah?"

"I guess..." Sek said. He moved closer to Rose, placing his manipulator arm on her wounds he used it to send waves of pleasure into the wounds, getting rid of the pain.

Rose gasped; she hadn't known that a Dalek was capable of healing as well as destruction. "How'd you do that?" she leaned over, plating a spontaneous kiss on his eyestalk. "Thanks."

The Doctor had wandered father up the street in the hopes of finding an Inn. He eventually found a small building selling drinks with room and board. Looking back to Rose and the Dalek, knowing Rose could keep the Dalek in check for a few minutes at least, we entered the pre-pub, causing the barman to look up and glare.

"We don't get many visitors round these parts" he spoke with a rather strong northern accent, which caused the Doctor to smirk.

"Well, that means you must have room for two- three."

"We got some room yeah, it'd be three silvers for a night, two golds for a week – not many stay beyond a night though."

"Headless Horseman?" the Doctor asked, the man shuddering and glaring, "I know, and hopefully I'll soon find out what it is but tell me, why do you still stay here? Why hasn't this village been abandoned?"

"You sound Brit but you surely cannot be; we strive for the best, through thick and thin."

"Of course" the Doctor smiled, "Quite right too" he turned and left, heading back to Rose and Sec as he called to the pair, "Too easy!"

"Got us a place to stay?" Rose had been watching the town when they came closer to it; it was so quiet. Little faces peeped out from behind curtains, full of childish fear. Adults barely ventured outside. "Is it me, or are you getting a London 2012 vibe around here? Everyone's too scared to show their faces."

Sek smiled mentally, "It is called a Manipulator Arm for a reason, i manipulated your pain into pleasure." he said.

"Remember," Sek said mentally to the Doctor. "We agreed to me being a 'knight' nothing less..."

"Indeed..." the Doctor replied unconvincingly to Sec, leading them back into the Inn, the man behind the bar already gone about his business that he didn't notice the two human-esque people and big metal tin can enter the place and take to the stairs. When they were in a surprisingly spacious room, the Doctor turned to the other two and stated simply; "now we wait..." before sitting on the bed, still as a statue with a sly smirk on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**CH: 3**

"Wait for what?" Sek asked instantly.

"Nightfall..." the Doctor replied distantly, now pulling out his sonic and fiddling with it, "see what we can find out from the Headless Horseman and what we can do about it. In the morning we ride to Camelot! Hah, I've always wanted to say that..."

Rose sighed, plopping down next to him. "As I recall, you're not one for waiting. We've got at least an hour, what'll you do until then?"

"Not one for waiting, Miss Tyler? Have you not known me at all? Well, i suppose not for a serious amount of time, but an hour - sure i can! Tell you what, why don't we chat and talk about boys... or Daleks" he glanced to Sec with a smirk.

"Y'know, I think about other things besides 'pretty boys'." Rose defended herself, putting air quotes around the last two words. "Honestly. Just because there were a few in the past doesn't mean there will be now. Besides, you wanted a horse!"

Sek was not currently listening to whatever they were talking about, because he had figured out what he needed to do to help prevent himself from going insane...He had begun to assign each emotion he knew of a personality of sorts, as if they were in his head, signs and names of streets down the path of life...

"A horse named Susan..." the Doctor mused, not really thinking of what was going on. He was still setting the Sonic to a right frequency, the problem was, he didn't know what frequency was needed and if the Headless Horseman was even a robot or something more sinister. He needed to get to Camelot too - they would know more, surely? They were only ten miles away, a horse for him and Rose and Sec could easily hover along besides, just as long as no-one got freaked out by it. Still, maybe if he found out more himself...

"Rose, Sec... We need a horse, definitely" the Doctor mused to the pair before shaking his head and looking directly at the Dalek's eye-stalk. "Sec, I'm sorry but how are you adapting to your new life? In fact, how are you now?"

"Thought you named 'im Arthur." Rose mused. "A horse? Where are we going? See, I knew you couldn't stand waiting for anything!"

She paused, glad he was asking about Sec. She'd been worried about him as well. In fact, she still needed to talk to the Doctor about what she'd thought of earlier, but she didn't know how'd she get him out of the room without making Sec suspicious.

Sec turned towards the Doctor, "I am currently assigning each emotion i know of a personality of sorts, as if they are in my head, signs and names of streets down the path of life..." He replied, turning around and continuing assorting each emotion he knew of.

Rose smiled at him. "What've you got for love?"

Sek swiveled his head around to face Rose and paused. He was tempted to say _you_, but knew that would make her look at him weird, might even make her despise him for it. "I am currently working on that one." He said after a few seconds.

"Well..." Rose tried to think of something. Love was just... complicated. Thoughts of family, and friends, and the Doctor flashed through her mind. "There are lots of kinds."

"That's what makes it harder to give it a personality." Sek responded.

She scooted over, so she could look into his eye. "Try sorting them out. There's friend love, and family love-I dunno, sometimes those are almost the same-and then there's love love. And being-a-parent-to-someone-love. I guess that counts as family, but it's a lot different. Or so mum says." She sighed. "Sorry, rambling. All those morph into different kinds, too. Like... like friends-but-wants to-be-more love. And temporary spur-of-the-moment love and with-you-forever love."

Rose added, "But I haven't really lived long enough to have all those anyway. The Doctor would probably be better at explaining it than me."

Sek thought about what she said for a moment before replying, "But the Doctor has never loved, he won't let himself as they die while he lives on..."

Rose bit her lip, glancing uncomfortably at the Doctor. "I don't think _that's_ true, Sek."

Sek moved back slightly in shock, he had not assumed that Rose would contradict him, someone who had the entire Dalek database of the Doctor in his brain. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well..." She wasn't sure how to say it. Whenever they saw people dying, or dead, or even just upset, the Doctor cared. He had such a capacity to love that she was forever astounded.

The Doctor had been looking out of the window as Sec and Rose talked, not too fussed by the conversation of love as night drew on pretty quickly. The rain had stopped, everything looks soft and fuzzy, the usual smell of petrichor in the air as the wet dust settled once more. But the peaceful feeling wasn't shared by the occupants of the village. The Doctor could see lights being turned off purposefully, people rushing back indoors before the night really fell. Odd.

He was still turned into the conversation in the room though, turning back in as he looked at his two companions pitifully. "Love, Sec, is many a complicated thing. Trying to find a definition for it is impossible; human in the year one billion still haven't figured it out and by then they're in every corner of this universe and well into the next, but yes, i do feel love. I have felt love and i still do, but i will speak no more on this subject" he looked back out the window, unaware of how rude he may have just been.

Rose sighed. "What he means is that he cares more than he lets on." She said, the last part loud and pointed. "What's out there that has you so interested, huh?"

Sek absorbed what the Doctor said, if the Doctor did feel love, then whom for?

"I think our Headless Horseman's about to appear..." the Doctor muttered, leaning far out of the window now just as their room's light went out, plunging them into darkness. There was silence in the street below now, baring that of the ghostly clops of a horse's hooves in the distance...

"Oh!" She jumped off the bed, pressing her forehead into the window. "I see 'im, n the distance... can't tell if he has ahead or not, it's too far away."

Suddenly, there are sounds of someone banging on the door downstairs, and shouts of, "Help!"

"Indeed it – or he – is too far in the distance, but time will make him come near. Listen to that" the Doctor mused as they remained silent, "The sound of absolutely nothing" he put emphasis on the last word as he pointed his Sonic out of the window toward the small figure of the horseman and pressed the button for a moment. As he and Rose were both awkwardly leaning out of the window, the Doctor positioned himself to look at Rose, he was grinning. "Remember when I was about to regenerate? I mused that I may come back with no head – can't help but be reminded by that…" he nodded down to the horseman. It was closer now and indeed, freakishly headless.

"Hm, about a hundred different possibilities and the Conic can't… Sec!" he slid rapidly back through the window and into the room, looking to the Dalek whom was quietly contemplating. "Advanced Dalek technology, vast databanks, part of the Cult of Skaro – can you scan and see what the –" he stopped. There was a distant sound of banging, then a distinct sound of neighing.

Downstairs the barman cowered. He hadn't been looking out for the Horseman – he had seen enough of that freak to last a lifetime – but now the rider was at the door, banging away. It was after him and was somehow speaking. A female voice. A trap to get him out and slaughter him like… no. no he wasn't going to answer the call of the door. The sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs alerted the barman to an even greater threat and he jumped from his hiding place but hit his head on the bar itself, darkness taking over as he lost consciousness.

The Doctor, barely looking for the owner of the place, ran down to the door, opening it without fear or caution and pulling in the figure and slamming the door so quickly it seemed like one fluid movement. Leaning his back on the door and looking at the new guest, his mouth opened slightly as he saw the time energy radiating off her in a way that only Time lords could see. "Hello…" he muttered to the young girl.

Arwen was breathing heavily, her once pink leotard and dance shorts muddied and her jazz shoes ruined. "What the heck is going on? Where am I?" She panted, pacing about the room, appearing just a bit insane. "Th-th-there's a guy out there...On a horse...With no head!" She pointed vaguely in the direction of the door.

"Yeah, _that_ would be an odd thing to see. You, headless..." She mused. Awkwardly maneuvering from the window, Rose heard the banging and by time she'd looked up the Doctor was already gone. She sighed. "All right, Sec, can you scan the horseman? It'd be nice to know what he is before he kills us."

"Yes, I kind of noticed that" the Doctor muttered, hearing footsteps now coming towards the front door he was leaning on, "And headless or not, he seemed to have noticed you either – how come you're dressed like you're from the twentieth century? A long way to travel just to be terrorised by a Glamric… Or Fatsu.. Or Hedma… Or… well there's a hundred possibilities and I'm ranting. The Doctor, by the way" he held his hand out for her to shake but instead pulled her up the stairs the moment she took it.

Sek swiveled his dome head around faster then he should have been able to and pointed his gunstick at the person next to the Doctor, "IDENTIFY!" he screamed.

"No... no! Sec, no!" Rose commanded, quickly jumping into his field of vision. "He wouldn't bring her here if she was dangerous. It's okay."

Sek stared at Rose for a second before moving to the other side of the room to finish tinkering with his brain.

"Sec, leave her alone."

"Sec..." the Doctor moaned, glancing at the frightened girl as the distant sound of a door being kicked in below greeted them all.

Sek turned towards Rose, "I did, I'm tinkering with my brain on the other side of the room, I am not messing with her..." Sek replied bluntly before turning away again.

Arwen is standing in the doorway, trying not to freak out over all of this. She looks around, scrutinizing every detail, trying to determine where they were. "Are we at the renaissance fair? Please tell me we're at the renaissance fair and y'all are just actors!"

The Doctor, hand still in the girl's addressed her, "Sadly not - you've... somehow found yourself back in the 5th Century, we're time travelers, that's a Dalek and we're about to need to run - and in Sec's case, over there, fly - really fast, really quickly, can you do that?"

Arwen nods. "Yup. Just...where are we running to? And how are time travelers? I thought time travel was impossible. Unless you have a time turner, but those were all smashed by Harry and his buddies...And what the heck is a Dalek?" Arwen asks in one breath.

"For someone who's travelled in time themselves it's not totally impossible, although Tine Turners are - creative for JK but, i mean really! And that's a Dalek" he pointed to Sec as footsteps could be heard on the stairs, "Right, everyone out and head _up_!" he demanded, passing the girl onto Rose so that he could take the rear of their expanded group, in case the headless no-longer-on-a-horse(man) was faster than his footsteps suggested.

"Hey I didn't mean to time-" Arwen started to reply, before she was passed to Rose. "Um...Hi..." She tentatively stuck her hand out for Rose to shake. "I'm Arwen."

Rose urged Sek along, staying behind him in case he got caught up. "What about the horseman? Why is he after us?"

Rose took her hand, shaking it while running. " 'M Rose."


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch: 4**

"My best friend's name is Rose!" Arwen exclaims as they run. "And I'm curious too...Who the heck is this 'headless Horseman?' Isn't it a bit early for the legend of sleepy hollow?"

Sek stopped and turned around; aiming his gunstick where the Headless Horsemen would be once it caught up with them. "DALEKS DO NOT RUN! THE HORSEMEN WILL BE EXTERMINATED!" he screeched.

"Exterminated? Haven't heard that one before...Way to be creative!" Lyra grinned.

Sek faced Arwen, "DALEKS HAVE NO CONCEPT OF CREATIVITY! YOU HAVE AN HUMAN SIZE INTELIGENCE IF YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Sek screamed, already hating thus person.

"No, Sek, we have to keep running." Rose said, almost pleading. "You can't just exterminate the horseman, he might be friendly. It's not Arden's fault, she looks human enough. C'mon, Sek, please, let's just keep going."

"...Very well, as you wish." Sek said, following her.

She smiled lightly, though the horseman was probably close behind them. 'Well, c'mon, then." she placed a hand on him to urge him forward.

"Yes." Sek replied.

Rose noticed that the Doctor was further behind them than she remembered. Footsteps sounded closer and closer. For someone headless, the horseman seemed to get around just fine. Heart thrumming wildly against her rib cage, Rose ducked into the first room she saw-a closet containing nothing but a bedraggled mop. "Sek, in here! Arwen!" the Doctor was headed this way. If the horseman was giving him trouble she could swing the door open last second and hit him in the chest.

Arwen quickly slipped into the closet, slightly hurt by Sec's earlier comment. 'What's wrong with being human?' She asked.

"Rose is the only human I approve of!" Sek explained.

Arwen sorta shrugged in acknowledgement, opting to stop trying to figure things out, hoping that she just slipped and hit her head during dance class, and this was just some crazy dream.

"Why thank you," Rose said, blushing a bit. She planted a kiss on the top of his head. "We should probably try to be quiet; otherwise that thing might hear us."

"You are... Welcome?" Sek said hesitantly, unsure if he was saying the correct thing.

Rose just shoots him a cheeky smile, whispering, "Quite right, too."

As the other three ran onto a random room only to have a conversation while being chased, the Doctor closed the door on them, so he faced the headless man alone. Sonic out at such close range and locking the door so they couldn't get out (although he hoped Sec wouldn't blast the wood apart) he turned and addressed the figure: "Now see here… oh" he finally saw what had been terrorizing everyone and paused, the thing paused too as the Doctor rearranged his words to form the sentence: "Why would a Headless Monk terrorize an early 6th century British village? I thought you were of a peaceful type?"

Sek mentally smiled at this, maybe he wasn't such a lost cause after all. "Success." He responded.

Arwen just leaned against the wall, casually sliding into her middle split, her elbows resting on the ground.

Rose had her face pressed up against the door. "Headless monk?" she whispered, puzzled.

Arwen opened her mouth to ask a question, the closed it, deciding any answers she got would just confuse her more.

"Why?" the Doctor asked the headless robed man in front of him, "and why have you been de-hooded? Why are you causing this fear?" The Monk though made a motion as is to shake its non-existent head then turned, walking back down the stairs. "You want me to follow?" the Doctor asked, following anyway and forgetting to unlock the door the two women and Daleks were in until he was in the street, when it was too late. Looking back momentarily to the broken in front door with resignation, he jumped up behind the Monk on the horse as the beast reared and began to ride off.

Arwen hears them walking away, and frowns in confusion. "Hey, Rose, what's going on out there?"

"That is obvious" Sek interrupted.

Arwen starts to say something again, but decides against it, instead walking up to the door and gently pushing Rose aside. Arwen pulled some bobby pins out of her hair, allowing it to fall out its bun, and starts picking the lock, mumbling to herself.

"Your obstacle removing skills are INFERIOR! MOVE OR BE EXTERMINATED!" Sek Shouted, pointing his gunstick at the door in preparation to blow it off its hinges.

The lock clicks and the door swings open. "You were saying?" Arwen turns to Sek, raising an eyebrow, smirking just a bit.

Sek says nothing as he roughly pushes her out of the way before flying off after the Doctor.

Arwen stumbles a bit, and then composes herself, dancing out of the closet, humming a tune to herself. She sticks her head back in. "Coming Rose?" She grins.

"On my way." Rose said, grateful she hadn't been forced to smash the door down. She'd been considering it, but had a feeling that it would have ended with her dislocating her shoulder. "Sek, slow down, will you?"

Arwen danced along behind Rose, deciding that if this was just a dream, she'd enjoy it. "Chassé and chassé and Arabesque-2-3. Piqué turn piqué turn and pirouette..." She mumbled, dancing to an imaginary beat.

Sek swore he heard something, but he was almost to the Doctor, he best not let up now.

The Monk had ridden tirelessly away from the village, possibly its first night away from stalking the town. The Doctor could smell salt in the air, hear the cry of gulls and realized they had rode far indeed, near the ocean by the crash of waves over the pounding of the horse's hooves. How far back was the village? Maybe it had been a seaside village, would have made sense if there had been a dock or similar. There was torchlight ahead, a mass amount in the distant, the outline of a building familiar and the Doctor smirked. The Monk had taken him to Camelot! Just when he had wanted it to too...

"He ran off on one of the horses, after the horseman!" Rose exclaimed, irritated, as the three came outside of the inn and saw a horse missing. "And he locked us in a closet! But nevermind."

She went to the dappled grey mare she'd ridden earlier, grasping the reins and pulling herself up. Spending a month in the Victorian ages had been helpful in the horsemanship department. "Come on, Arwen, just pick a horse and let's see if we can catch up to him."

Arwen very in gracefully climbed onto a cream colored mare with a slightly lighter mane. The look on her face pretty much said "Gosh, I hope I don't fall."

"Hey, you'll be fine." Rose assured the nervous-looking girl. "Just... don't jab her in the side with your heels. I learned that the hard way."

"Right. Don't jab her in the sides. Gotcha." Arwen giggled nervously.

Rose coaxed her horse forward, knowing Sek could keep up by hovering over the rough ground. Presently they reached a path that was more gravelly and covered in gray stones, the scent of salt in the air. "We're near the ocean." Rose called to the other two. "Is Camelot near the ocean?"

"No one knows for certain," Arwen answered. "There is not a known location of Camelot, although there are a few cities in Britain that claim to be Camelot, no one knows for certain, as Camelot is less a physical place and more a powerful symbol of King Arthur's court and universe." Arwen babbled as they rode.

"Well, I think that I found the Doctor." Rose said, motioning to a horseman in the distance. "So it must be."

Arwen paused for a moment as she processes this new information. "Oh...Okay. I'll have to tell my History teacher then. And my geography teacher. And my friends teachers. Then go and- I'm rambling aren't I? Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous." She gave a nervous smile.

The Monk's horse skidded to a halt. The Doctor had noticed them pass through an open gate, the sudden torchlight of an active night-time courtyard blurring his eyes momentarily as he slid off the horse; the Monk remaining. There was the sound of a commotion from one of the buildings and a man in armor came out with a sword. He ignored the Monk as he addressed the Doctor;

"Name yourself or face my blade!" he was brave despite himself but the Doctor's mind had already raced well ahead, see the predictive future and realized what had gone on.

"Oh Lancelot you strong-minded man" the Doctor walked up to the man who hesitated, "Why go to all the trouble of hiring out one of the Headless Monks to haunt a little village so as to get me here? What had happened to this country? What of the King, in fact?"

Lancelot placed down his sword with slight reluctance as he asked simply, "Merlin?"

"The one and the same – although with a different face to last you saw. I don't suppose you've got a cuppa; long and cold journey after all. Oh! And before I forget, when a larger-than-life pepper pot and two blond girls come riding near, show them in – I kind of left them tagging along."

"Apprentices?" Lancelot asked as he led the Doctor back into the stone structure he had exited.

"Something like that…" the Doctor muttered, noting momentarily that the Headless Monk hadn't followed them, and instead had joined a group of disturbed-looking-knights like it was socializing – or at least trying to.

Sek stopped as he arrived at the fortress, glancing to the side he stared at the knights looking at him in fear, thinking he was a magical being or something.

_Kill them, they deserve to die_

Sek shook off this thought, slightly wondering where it came from.

Rose slowed her horse down to a trot. "Oi!" she called to one of the guards "Did, um did the Doctor-no, sorry, did Merlin just come by here? We've been trying to find him; he ditched us in the town nearby."

Arwen raised an eyebrow and rode her mare closer to Rose. "The Doctor, Merlin?" She whispered doubtfully.

Rose shrugged. "He mentioned something about being known as Merlin."

Arwen nodded slowly. "Okay...So, he's a time traveling alien wizard from the future? Good to know."

One of the guards of Camelot addressed the main Blond on the horse, taking control of her steed as he stated: "Merlin has given request that you and your friend and..." he looked to Sec, "Pepper pot?" he looked to his fellow guard with a shrug before continuing, "be taken to council and rested. He is speaking with Sir Lancelot at this time and they must not be disturbed. If you follow me please..."

Rose slipped off her horse. "Thanks. What was your name? Oh, and the 'pepper pot' is Sek." She came to stand next to him. To Arwen, she said, "Who knows. I don't think he's actually got... you know, magic." the last part was whispered so the guard wouldn't hear her.


End file.
